Resorting to good wine: The RSM Classic, Sea Island Resort, November 20-23, 2025
Florida and sometimes Arizona get a lot of the press regarding where PGA players live and train in the off-season. Less flashy but equally if not more impressive is the pro community gathered around the Sea Island Resort, home of the RSM Classic. The tournament’s host, Davis Love III, has a veritable posse of pros to mingle with. Just for starters: Keith Mitchell, JT Boston, Ben Griffin, Brian Harman, Andrew Novak, Davis Thompson and Harris English-you could field a very competitive Ryder Cup team just from this lineup. Here’s a full list from the Sea Island Golf Performance Center.
What does this have to do with wine? I’m glad you asked. As you’ll see in a moment, the Sea Island Resort has one of the most impressive destination wine programs in the country. And if Davis Love is the face of Sea Island Golf, Keith Mitchell is the face of Sea Island Wine.
Here he is holding up a jeroboam of a terrific white Burgundy as though it was The Claret Jug, procured from a local retailer in Brunswick, Newcastle Wines (also see below). I wish I were there to help him drink it. The photo embodies everything this website was created to express. He’s officially the Swig Coach’s hero.
Through a lucky set of circumstances, in compiling this article I had the chance to speak with three of the most knowledgeable wine people in the so-called Golden Isles (Sea Island, Brunswick, St. Simons, Little St. Simons and Jekyll Island) and it was a revelation. I have to admit their input exposed many limitations of my online-only approach to evaluating the availability of good wine in unfamiliar markets. First, as they say, you don't know what you don't know. Second, getting on-the-ground recommendations from local experts was invaluable in terms of what I can pass along to you.
My three local "gurus of the Golden Isles" are Ryan McLoughlin, Brian Henderson and Brandon Boudreau, all of whom cut their teeth at the Sea Island Resort, a shrine to great wine. Ryan actually runs the wine program at Sea Island, which kind of makes him Boss of the Moss. Brian and Brnedan are both involved in dynamic retail operations that you'd never uncover if you were trying to figure it out remotely online. It's worth getting to know a little about each of them before diving into the specific recommendations.
Ryan, a self-described' “Swiss Army Knife,” is the Head Sommelier of Sea Island Company, meaning he overseas all beverage operations for one of the world’s great golf and wine destinations. He’s also a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and an avid golfer in his spare time. Talk about Triple Threat. He’s on speed dial for Keith and a handful of touring pros in The Golden Isles who love wine, and of course, he’s the wine host of the Tournament itself.
Brian was the maître d' at The Cloisters at The Sea Island Resort in his early 20's. There he soon found himself in love with wine and on the path to passing the Advanced Sommelier exam on his first try as well as being a Certified French Wine Specialist. Today he is responsible for evaluating and purchasing premium wines for JP's Wines and Spirits in Brunswick and advising several local restaurants. If you find yourself anywhere nearby and care about wine, you'll want to look him up. Ask about his experiences working with John Daly and Vijay Singh. You won’t be disappointed.
Brandon is himself a Certified Sommelier who left a senior Sea Island post to realize his dream of opening a fine wine boutique (Newcastle Wine Merchant) in an affluent but underserved market. He is passionate about and specializes in small, high quality, artisanal producers whose wines may never have been seen before in Coastal Georgia. For our purposes here @SwigCoach, suffice it to say like Ryan he serves as the retail wine whisperer/caddie to several local touring PGA pros who reside in the area.
What follows then is a combination of my own remote research and their precision-guided recommendations. I’m not a food critic, but they confirm the food is great across the board and any number of menu photos I saw of Georgia Coastal Cuisine looked inspired.
Restaurants
Ryan McLoughlin in his element
Sea Island Resort. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the anchor of wine culture resides at the venerable Sea Island Resort itself, site of the RSM tournament. On the website there are 15 listed places to eat, ranging from ultra-fine dining to poolside and the Men’s Locker Room. The wine list available at the Cloister is magnificent, full of great options from all over the world. It features multiple verticals and expresses a fondness for certain esteemed high-end producers like Didier Dageuneau in Pouilly Fume, Arnoux-Lachoux in Burgundy, and Opus One. The philosophy seems to be once you’ve found the gold standard, you might as well double down. Prices are resort-like, but not the highest we’ve ever seen. At 78 pages, The Cloister list is more than twice the size of the The Lodge, which is also excellent. If we were there, we’d ask for the Cloister List at the Men’s Grill and snack bar too. Sometimes big resorts will share the cellar across venues, so why not try? Under Ryan’s direction, the guests are always right and Southern hospitality prevails.
Once you leave the Resort, everything else plays second fiddle from a wine perspective, but it doesn’t mean you’ll go thirsty
Halyards has skinnied down the list since our first visit. It’s small/mid-size now with familiar names in key regions. Reasonable prices for the most part. The pulse will not quicken but neither will it flatline.
Delaney’s Bistro offers more of the same-small selections at very reasonable prices, with a few exciting surprises. Oddly, the online list has no vintages, but just for example it lists Chateau Rauzan Segla, a terrific Margaux, for $100, which in a restaurant is a great price regardless of vintage. Assuming it’s not a typo it's worth the trip just for that.
Dorothy’s Cocktail and Oyster Bar Cited for its small but eclectic list. Compared to everywhere else except the Cloisters, its European wine selection reflects evident curation and a spirit of adventure. Prices are a little high but you’re surprised to find Poggio di Sotto Brunello at all, even if it’s $600.
Tramici A few decent options if you go straight to the reds on the Select Bottle List, like a (misspelled) Vajra Nebbiolo for $62.
Woodside qualifies as a no-see-um in all categories. There isn’t much to see online except a reservation function and you have to assume this is deliberate. One of our experts gave it high praise and the online reviews are uniformly excellent. Can’t comment on the wine but you can hope the list lives up to the reputation.
Retail
Whether you’re a resident, a snowbird, or just visiting, here’s where to go if you want to make good wines part of your Golden Isles experience. Nothing like having an accredited sommelier on the floor in a retail store if you’re wondering what to serve with dinner tonight.
Brian Henderson at JP’s Wines and Spirits
Brandon Boudreau at Newcastle Wine Merchants
Brandon’s store, Newcastle Wine Merchant, has accumulated a devoted local following. He’s what I would describe as a tastemaker, whose combination of knowledge, enthusiasm and access to allocated producers can help steer his clients to exciting discoveries across the price/value spectrum. In his own words, his goal is to help people discover “the best kept secrets of the wine world.” Despite the fact that his wines may be unfamiliar to many, he’s committed to the idea that buying them should never be intimidating. His website unfortunately is barely maintained but his Instagram game is strong and I’d default there or even better, do it the old fashioned way and just walk in.
The owner of JP’s Wine and Spirits made Brian Henderson an offer he couldn’t refuse to help take their wine game to the next level. Unfortunately, you won’t learn a thing from their website, so we heartily recommend you either email or call Brian directly to find out what’s up. In his spare time Brian is a kayak guide, hiking enthusiast, and now writes regularly for Elegant Island Living. Despite his exalted wine credentials, he couldn’t be more friendly and down-to-earth.
The Bubble Bar at Two Friends was originally curated by another certified sommelier and wine educator, Ruth Ryberg. The unique concept is a wine store and wine bar inside a boutique/gift shop. When we first visited there were more than 500 wines available, many from small, artisanal producers with a sustainable/organic orientation. Recently the website has been scrubbed of any specific wine recommendations, so we don’t know what’s up. Proceed with caution.
